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Logan walked over and stood beside me, rolling his shoulders in a jacket that matched the one I wore, but the flower in his lapel was pink, not white. Beside him, Josh, Isaac, and Luca took up their positions as groomsmen.
“How are you doing?” Logan asked at my side.
“I’m good,” I replied, though that wasn’t the right word for it. I vibrated with anticipation, and there was a fluttering, empty feeling in my stomach—a hollow filled with butterflies as I counted down the minutes.
The celebrant arrived and shook my hand as she took her place under the bridal arch. To the side, a duo of acoustic guitar players began strumming a gentle melody, and I stared towards the enclosed bridal canopy set up at the end of the sandy aisle, where Abbie waited.
Romantic music floated around us as the last guests took their seats. On Abbie’s side, the first chair in the front row was empty, waiting for Arthur to take his place. Next along was Nancy, then Adam with Liberty on his other side. I nodded at the man who was about to be my brother-in-law and shared a smile with his girlfriend, who also happened to be my new business partner. I hadn’t rushed into anything this time, and we’d only signed on the dotted line earlier that week.
On the opposite side of the aisle, Mum and Ray sat in front with two vacant seats beside them. In the row behind were four of my five cousins. Dylan had the chair on the aisle, the best position to see his four-year-old daughter, Izzy, pass him as the flower girl. Beside Dylan was Charlotte—Charlie for short—with her warm brown hair in loose curls around her shoulders and her phone upright, ready to film. On her other side was Daisy. In her mid-twenties, with long hair dyed a striking shade of pastel pink, Daisy was the youngest of the Davenport siblings, and she looked tiny sitting there with Chord on her other side. Tall and strong with the athletic build of an NHL player—because he was; Chord played wing for the Calgary Crushers—I was surprised he’d made it here for the wedding, but Chord assured me he wouldn’t have missed it for anything. The only person not here was Finn, but he was serving overseas in the U.S. military.
I was thankful they’d flown from California to be here. Aside from my mother, my cousins were the only relatives I had in the world, and I’d been excited to introduce them to Seb. They’d arrived two days ago, and Izzy had taken charge of him the second they met. The two had been inseparable since. It was fucking adorable.
Suddenly, the music changed, and I stood a little straighter. The guests turned in their seats to watch as the event assistants parted the white fabric of the bridal tent, and the first person stepped out.
I smiled politely at Tash, who was glowing in a billowy pale pink dress. She gripped a small bouquet of white flowers in her hands, and I glanced at Luca. His eyes were riveted to her, and when she passed Luca’s mother holding their new baby among the rows of guests, Tash smiled. You could almost feel the mini-explosion of love between the three of them.
Birdie was next, also in a pink dress. Her red hair was braided and stuck with tiny white blossoms, and as she passed me to take her place at the altar, she threw a wink Isaac’s way.
Emily followed, a tiny thing in another pink gown, white flowers in her hands. She blushed at the attention and cast Josh a shy look as she positioned herself next to Birdie.
Jess stepped out of the bridal tent and paced down the aisle towards us, keeping time with the music. I wish I could have said I paid more attention to her, but it was hard to even breathe, knowing Abbie would be next.
The fabric moved, and my heart lurched, but out slipped Izzy in her pretty white dress, with Seb hanging precariously to her hand. Izzy had a pouch of flower petals tied to her waist, and she threw these around with solemn precision as she clung to Seb’s chubby little fingers with her other hand. Everyone cooed as my son and my cousin’s daughter made their careful journey down the aisle, and I grinned. Seb was so freaking cute in his tiny cream-coloured suit, collared white shirt, and bare feet tripping over the sand. At eighteen months old, he was steady on solid surfaces but still struggled on the beach. Izzy kept the pace slow to accommodate him, and the serious look on her face was incredibly sweet.
As they approached, I leaned down to accept the little velvet box clutched in Seb’s hand.
“Daddy!” He flung himself at my legs, and I scooped him up to give him a kiss before Mum took him and positioned him on the seat next to her. Izzy took the other one as Dylan reached forward and told her what a wonderful job she’d done.
The music changed again, and everyone rose to their feet. I didn’t realise I’d shifted forward until Logan set a hand on my arm and pulled me back.
The event assistants drew back the canopy fabric, and the world stood still.
The dress was simple—strapless layers of delicate fabric that swirled around her legs and showed off her arms, her bronze skin glowing in the pink light of sunset. Her blonde hair was in loose waves down her back, and she wore a delicate wreath of white flowers as a crown. Her face glowed with joy.
Abbie was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, and it hurt to swallow. It hurt to breathe.
Her eyes found mine, and I lost my bearings, unable to break away from her gaze as Arthur stopped before me, kissed Abbie’s cheek, and took his seat. I don’t remember reaching for Abbie’s hand, but there it was in mine, and now we were facing each other. The celebrant was speaking, and I was trying hard to listen, but all I could do was run my eyes over my girl’s face. She was happy. She was perfect. And I needed someone to pinch me because how the fuck did I get so lucky?
“Abbie and Will have written their own vows for today,” the celebrant was saying, and a swell of nerves scattered the fog in my head. “Will, would you like to go first?”
I cleared my throat and thought of the wadded-up piece of paper in the pocket of my jacket. I ignored it, just like I was about to ignore most of the things written on it. A page of rehearsed notes wasn’t good enough. Not today, and not for this woman.
“Abigail.” I cleared my throat as my nose tingled with the threat of tears. “We’ve known each other forever, but it’s not the length of time we’ve spent together that makes the bond between us unbreakable. It’s what we’ve shared over the years. Honesty. Heartache. Laughs. Love. I’ve spent a long time trying to prove to myself that I was worth something. I thought if I could just do enough, make enough, be enough, I’d be deserving of something good. I never dared to hope thatsomething goodmight one day be you. You are my dream. My wish. My world.”
Abbie gazed up at me, hanging on each word with a small smile on her mouth and eyes glassy with emotion, and my lips tipped up on one side.
“Three years ago, we were making secret promises and sneaky plans to avoid marriage forever because we’re not the marrying kind, right?” Abbie laughed a little as a single tear escaped and dropped from her cheek. “But even then, babe, I knew that if I was going to grow old with someone, it had to be you. It was always you.
“And then Seb came into our lives, and my dreams changed. I watched you fall in love with my son, and I imagined raising a family with you. All my hopes for the future shifted to make room for this new dream, and now, nothing would bring me more happiness than building a life of love with you and our children. I love you, Abigail, and I promise to love you every minute of every day for the rest of my life.”
A chorus of sighs rose up around us, and I leaned forward to kiss Abbie before I remembered there was an order to these things. Abbie bit back a smile and gripped my hands tighter as the celebrant invited her to recite her vows.
“Will. You are my best friend, and you’ve been my best friend for so long that I don’t remember a time when you weren’t beside me. Loving me on my good days and bad, always with a smile and hug when I needed it. Even when I didn’t want you to. Even when I wasn’t ready to love you back. I was scared for a long time. I didn’t want to take a chance on us because I couldn’t believe you might love me as hard or as fiercely as I loved you. I needed time, and you gave it to me without my ever having to ask for it. Thank you.”
Her fingers tightened around mine, and I squeezed back. My heart raced ahead of my breath, thumping against my ribs, and I resisted the urge to gather her in my arms.
“A long time ago, you asked me what type of boyfriend I thought you would be. Do you remember?”
